This book brings together sixteen originally independent articles dealing with various aspects of 1 Corinthians and published between 1976 and 1993. As the series develops there are more frequent ...
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This book brings together sixteen originally independent articles dealing with various aspects of 1 Corinthians and published between 1976 and 1993. As the series develops there are more frequent cross‐references. The first deals with the issue of co‐authorship, and the last with the question of interpolations in 1 Cor. The rest focus on the most difficult and disputed texts in 1 Corinthians, namely, 1 Cor 5: 3–5 (incest in the name of Christ); 6: 12–20 (Corinthian slogans about the body); 7: 10–11 (divorce and remarriage); 7: 14 (holiness); 8: 6 (baptismal acclamation); 8: 8 (Corinthian slogan regarding food); chs. 8–10 (food offered to idols); 11: 2–16 (3 articles; blurring of the distinction between the sexes in worship); 11: 17–34 (2 articles; house‐churches and the eucharist); 15: 3–7 (creed); 15: 29 (baptism for the dead). Each original article took contemporary scholarship into full account. A ‘Postscript’ appended to each one brings the discussion up to the present by documenting the ensuing debate about the proposed hypotheses.Less

Keys to First Corinthians : Revisiting the Major Issues

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor

Published in print: 2009-02-12

This book brings together sixteen originally independent articles dealing with various aspects of 1 Corinthians and published between 1976 and 1993. As the series develops there are more frequent cross‐references. The first deals with the issue of co‐authorship, and the last with the question of interpolations in 1 Cor. The rest focus on the most difficult and disputed texts in 1 Corinthians, namely, 1 Cor 5: 3–5 (incest in the name of Christ); 6: 12–20 (Corinthian slogans about the body); 7: 10–11 (divorce and remarriage); 7: 14 (holiness); 8: 6 (baptismal acclamation); 8: 8 (Corinthian slogan regarding food); chs. 8–10 (food offered to idols); 11: 2–16 (3 articles; blurring of the distinction between the sexes in worship); 11: 17–34 (2 articles; house‐churches and the eucharist); 15: 3–7 (creed); 15: 29 (baptism for the dead). Each original article took contemporary scholarship into full account. A ‘Postscript’ appended to each one brings the discussion up to the present by documenting the ensuing debate about the proposed hypotheses.

The following two texts consist essentially of genealogies – the shrunken genealogy of Jacob (Genesis 35:21–29) and the expansive genealogy of his old nemesis, Esau (36:1–37:1). The brevity of ...
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The following two texts consist essentially of genealogies – the shrunken genealogy of Jacob (Genesis 35:21–29) and the expansive genealogy of his old nemesis, Esau (36:1–37:1). The brevity of Jacob's genealogy seems to be explained by its opening: the incest of Jacob's eldest son, Reuben, with Jacob's concubine, Bilhah – an event which would have undermined the father. Jacob hears, but does nothing and says nothing. (He acts on it when he is dying, 49:3–4). For the moment, he is diminished, and his genealogy reflects it. (In better circumstances, his genealogy is longer, 46:8–27).Less

Thomas L. Brodie

Published in print: 2001-09-06

The following two texts consist essentially of genealogies – the shrunken genealogy of Jacob (Genesis 35:21–29) and the expansive genealogy of his old nemesis, Esau (36:1–37:1). The brevity of Jacob's genealogy seems to be explained by its opening: the incest of Jacob's eldest son, Reuben, with Jacob's concubine, Bilhah – an event which would have undermined the father. Jacob hears, but does nothing and says nothing. (He acts on it when he is dying, 49:3–4). For the moment, he is diminished, and his genealogy reflects it. (In better circumstances, his genealogy is longer, 46:8–27).

This chapter examines the Kody Brown case and the issues it raised regarding polygamy. In 2013, a federal court in Utah struck down that state's criminal prohibition based on considerations ...
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This chapter examines the Kody Brown case and the issues it raised regarding polygamy. In 2013, a federal court in Utah struck down that state's criminal prohibition based on considerations altogether different from those taken into account in British Columbia. The case involved Kody Brown and his four wives. The Browns are “members of a religious group that believes polygamy is a core religious practice.” The county attorney charged with defending the Utah law in the federal district court filed a seven-page memorandum that Judge Clark Waddoups described as lacking in substance. The chapter discusses Waddoups's claim about the perceived “social harm” of Mormon polygamy and asks whether legal prohibitions against adult incest can be justified when partners avoid having children. Finally, it considers the new, “postmodern” form of plural relationship known as polyamory.Less

Polygamy Unbound? The Kody Brown Family and the Future of Plural Marriage

Stephen Macedo

Published in print: 2015-06-09

This chapter examines the Kody Brown case and the issues it raised regarding polygamy. In 2013, a federal court in Utah struck down that state's criminal prohibition based on considerations altogether different from those taken into account in British Columbia. The case involved Kody Brown and his four wives. The Browns are “members of a religious group that believes polygamy is a core religious practice.” The county attorney charged with defending the Utah law in the federal district court filed a seven-page memorandum that Judge Clark Waddoups described as lacking in substance. The chapter discusses Waddoups's claim about the perceived “social harm” of Mormon polygamy and asks whether legal prohibitions against adult incest can be justified when partners avoid having children. Finally, it considers the new, “postmodern” form of plural relationship known as polyamory.

Focuses on the cultural changes produced by the movement against child sexual abuse, by tracing changes in mass media portrayals of child sexual abuse from 1970s to the 1990s. Media reflected a ...
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Focuses on the cultural changes produced by the movement against child sexual abuse, by tracing changes in mass media portrayals of child sexual abuse from 1970s to the 1990s. Media reflected a contradictory mixture of meanings drawn both from movement organizations and mainstream culture. Mass media coverage increased dramatically; it reflected movement success, but like policy gains, media selection processes favored movement messages that resonated with mainstream beliefs. Coverage emphasized abuse by strangers over incest, breaking silence, the need for therapy and healing, but de‐emphasized the movement's emphases on self‐help and solidarity among survivors. By the early 1990s, medical and criminal frames dominated and sceptical coverage increased as a countermovement emerged. Contrary to the view that media coverage represented a “moral panic,” the chapter argues that it did not have the characteristics of a moral panic, and is better understood through the interactions of movement, experts, and media selection processes.Less

Diffusion and Dilution : Mass Culture Discovers Child Sexual Abuse

Nancy Whittier

Published in print: 2009-10-01

Focuses on the cultural changes produced by the movement against child sexual abuse, by tracing changes in mass media portrayals of child sexual abuse from 1970s to the 1990s. Media reflected a contradictory mixture of meanings drawn both from movement organizations and mainstream culture. Mass media coverage increased dramatically; it reflected movement success, but like policy gains, media selection processes favored movement messages that resonated with mainstream beliefs. Coverage emphasized abuse by strangers over incest, breaking silence, the need for therapy and healing, but de‐emphasized the movement's emphases on self‐help and solidarity among survivors. By the early 1990s, medical and criminal frames dominated and sceptical coverage increased as a countermovement emerged. Contrary to the view that media coverage represented a “moral panic,” the chapter argues that it did not have the characteristics of a moral panic, and is better understood through the interactions of movement, experts, and media selection processes.

This chapter explores the ethical implications resulting from this revised understanding of the self, freedom, and God's grace—implications that are relevant to trauma survivors and to Christian ...
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This chapter explores the ethical implications resulting from this revised understanding of the self, freedom, and God's grace—implications that are relevant to trauma survivors and to Christian communities as a whole. This chapter argues that this revised theology of freedom and grace intensifies our sense of collective responsibility for enabling one another's freedom before God. The chapter proceeds to examine how Christian communities can practically reach out to trauma survivors to facilitate healing and recovery from traumatic violence. There is hope that creative acts of neighbor‐love can mediate divine grace, fostering incest survivors' freedom to relate lovingly to God and neighbor.Less

Ethical Directions : Implications of a Revised Theology of Freedom and Grace

Jennifer Erin Beste

Published in print: 2007-10-04

This chapter explores the ethical implications resulting from this revised understanding of the self, freedom, and God's grace—implications that are relevant to trauma survivors and to Christian communities as a whole. This chapter argues that this revised theology of freedom and grace intensifies our sense of collective responsibility for enabling one another's freedom before God. The chapter proceeds to examine how Christian communities can practically reach out to trauma survivors to facilitate healing and recovery from traumatic violence. There is hope that creative acts of neighbor‐love can mediate divine grace, fostering incest survivors' freedom to relate lovingly to God and neighbor.

The fable of the Emperor's New Clothes is a classic example of a conspiracy of silence, a situation where everyone refuses to acknowledge an obvious truth. But the denial of social realities—whether ...
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The fable of the Emperor's New Clothes is a classic example of a conspiracy of silence, a situation where everyone refuses to acknowledge an obvious truth. But the denial of social realities—whether incest, alcoholism, corruption, or even genocide—is no fairy tale. This book sheds light on the social and political underpinnings of silence and denial—the keeping of “open secrets.” The author shows that conspiracies of silence exist at every level of society, ranging from small groups to large corporations, from personal friendships to politics. He also shows how such conspiracies evolve, illuminating the social pressures that cause people to deny what is right before their eyes. We see how each conspirator's denial is symbiotically complemented by the others', and learn that silence is usually more intense when there are more people conspiring—and especially when there are significant power differences among them. The author concludes by showing that the longer we ignore “elephants,” the larger they loom in our minds, as each avoidance triggers an even greater spiral of denial. Drawing on examples from newspapers and comedy shows to novels, children's stories, and film, the book travels back and forth across different levels of social life, and from everyday moments to large-scale historical events. At its core, it helps us understand why we ignore truths that are known to all of us.Less

The Elephant in the Room : Silence and Denial in Everyday Life

Eviatar Zerubavel

Published in print: 2006-03-09

The fable of the Emperor's New Clothes is a classic example of a conspiracy of silence, a situation where everyone refuses to acknowledge an obvious truth. But the denial of social realities—whether incest, alcoholism, corruption, or even genocide—is no fairy tale. This book sheds light on the social and political underpinnings of silence and denial—the keeping of “open secrets.” The author shows that conspiracies of silence exist at every level of society, ranging from small groups to large corporations, from personal friendships to politics. He also shows how such conspiracies evolve, illuminating the social pressures that cause people to deny what is right before their eyes. We see how each conspirator's denial is symbiotically complemented by the others', and learn that silence is usually more intense when there are more people conspiring—and especially when there are significant power differences among them. The author concludes by showing that the longer we ignore “elephants,” the larger they loom in our minds, as each avoidance triggers an even greater spiral of denial. Drawing on examples from newspapers and comedy shows to novels, children's stories, and film, the book travels back and forth across different levels of social life, and from everyday moments to large-scale historical events. At its core, it helps us understand why we ignore truths that are known to all of us.

This chapter reads Ola Rotimi's The Gods are Not to Blame as an allegory of colonization and decolonization and revises the established reading of the play as a representation of the Nigerian Civil ...
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This chapter reads Ola Rotimi's The Gods are Not to Blame as an allegory of colonization and decolonization and revises the established reading of the play as a representation of the Nigerian Civil War. The protagonist's patricide is understood as the slaying of the colonial father at the moment of independence, and the ensuing incest is the intimate embrace between the hero of national liberation and what the despatched colonizer leaves behind, namely his culture. This relationship is incestuous because the liberating hero is already a partial product of colonial culture. Political decolonization is thus staged as the easy part, while cultural decolonization is dramatized as impossible because the incestuous embrace produces issue. This issue is not only the children in the play but also the play itself. As such, the play is a product of an indigenous and a colonial culture. Ethnic aggression, as both colonization and civil war, is thus characterised as fighting oneself.Less

Back to the Motherland: Ola Rotimi's The Gods Are Not To Blame

Barbara GoffMichael Simpson

Published in print: 2007-12-01

This chapter reads Ola Rotimi's The Gods are Not to Blame as an allegory of colonization and decolonization and revises the established reading of the play as a representation of the Nigerian Civil War. The protagonist's patricide is understood as the slaying of the colonial father at the moment of independence, and the ensuing incest is the intimate embrace between the hero of national liberation and what the despatched colonizer leaves behind, namely his culture. This relationship is incestuous because the liberating hero is already a partial product of colonial culture. Political decolonization is thus staged as the easy part, while cultural decolonization is dramatized as impossible because the incestuous embrace produces issue. This issue is not only the children in the play but also the play itself. As such, the play is a product of an indigenous and a colonial culture. Ethnic aggression, as both colonization and civil war, is thus characterised as fighting oneself.

Rita Dove's The Darker Face of the Earth examines the process of building ‘America’ out of partly African materials. Incest becomes a sign for the forced amalgamation of cultures that characterized ...
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Rita Dove's The Darker Face of the Earth examines the process of building ‘America’ out of partly African materials. Incest becomes a sign for the forced amalgamation of cultures that characterized plantation slavery, and the oedipal tropes of knowledge, parentage, desire, and narrative are made newly relevant by the particular racialized history of the United States. The politics of the Greek drama, whereby the hero is pitted against the community, are also interrogated by the various choices made by figures such as Augustus, the chorus and the conspirators. The issue of oedipally competing traditions is scrutinised via African-American tropes such as Esu, the talking book, and the tragic mulatto/a. Also examined is the cultural position of the dramatist herself, as a black woman writer and a member of the generation immediately after the Black Arts Movement.Less

Oedipus Rebound: Rita Dove's The Darker Face of the Earth

Barbara GoffMichael Simpson

Published in print: 2007-12-01

Rita Dove's The Darker Face of the Earth examines the process of building ‘America’ out of partly African materials. Incest becomes a sign for the forced amalgamation of cultures that characterized plantation slavery, and the oedipal tropes of knowledge, parentage, desire, and narrative are made newly relevant by the particular racialized history of the United States. The politics of the Greek drama, whereby the hero is pitted against the community, are also interrogated by the various choices made by figures such as Augustus, the chorus and the conspirators. The issue of oedipally competing traditions is scrutinised via African-American tropes such as Esu, the talking book, and the tragic mulatto/a. Also examined is the cultural position of the dramatist herself, as a black woman writer and a member of the generation immediately after the Black Arts Movement.

Although much is known about the consequences of sexual abuse and the characteristics of the individuals and families involved, these pieces of information have yet to be arranged to form a clear ...
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Although much is known about the consequences of sexual abuse and the characteristics of the individuals and families involved, these pieces of information have yet to be arranged to form a clear picture of why sexual abuse occurs. This chapter provides an account of how an evolutionary computational framework can help organize what is currently known about sexual abuse and provide a set of answers to the question of why it happens. It focuses specifically on one component of our evolved psychology hypothesized to play a significant role in explaining why sexual abuse occurs: inbreeding avoidance mechanisms. Identifying the cues our evolved psychology uses to detect kin and generate sexual aversions towards them can help illuminate why sexual aversions fail to develop, leading, in some circumstances, to an increased risk of incest or sexual abuse within the family.Less

Kin Detection and the Development of Sexual Aversions: Toward an Integration of Theories on Family Sexual Abuse

Ilanit TalDebra Lieberman

Published in print: 2007-10-01

Although much is known about the consequences of sexual abuse and the characteristics of the individuals and families involved, these pieces of information have yet to be arranged to form a clear picture of why sexual abuse occurs. This chapter provides an account of how an evolutionary computational framework can help organize what is currently known about sexual abuse and provide a set of answers to the question of why it happens. It focuses specifically on one component of our evolved psychology hypothesized to play a significant role in explaining why sexual abuse occurs: inbreeding avoidance mechanisms. Identifying the cues our evolved psychology uses to detect kin and generate sexual aversions towards them can help illuminate why sexual aversions fail to develop, leading, in some circumstances, to an increased risk of incest or sexual abuse within the family.

These three authors, although compulsively writing out of a distress engendered by their “mobilization wounds,” learned by the time of writing their twenties masterpieces to submerge and transfigure ...
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These three authors, although compulsively writing out of a distress engendered by their “mobilization wounds,” learned by the time of writing their twenties masterpieces to submerge and transfigure this pain so as not to embarrass themselves with the revelation of their sense of inadequacy. All three had produced previous texts that openly address Anglo characters' humiliations in the military and so come off as bitter. The high modernism of Gatsby, Sun, A Farewell to Arms, and Sound, with its symbolism and its sense of tragedy (as opposed to bitterness), is a result of these authors developing the devices that allow them to disguise their mobilization traumas and thus to continue to exorcise them, but now obliquely. In Hemingway's and Faulkner's novels, “objective” sexual obstacles (injury, incest taboo) stand in for the military rejection that emasculated these Anglo authors, disguising and transfiguring it. Hemingway and Faulkner dignified the suffering of their Anglo alter egos by making their true loves impossible; Fitzgerald's alternative strategy for dignifying his sense of rejection was to split himself between two alter egos — one Anglo American and one ethnic American — and to give the experience of social rejection to a tragic character based only minimally on himself, namely, Gatsby.Less

Keith Gandal

Published in print: 2008-08-14

These three authors, although compulsively writing out of a distress engendered by their “mobilization wounds,” learned by the time of writing their twenties masterpieces to submerge and transfigure this pain so as not to embarrass themselves with the revelation of their sense of inadequacy. All three had produced previous texts that openly address Anglo characters' humiliations in the military and so come off as bitter. The high modernism of Gatsby, Sun, A Farewell to Arms, and Sound, with its symbolism and its sense of tragedy (as opposed to bitterness), is a result of these authors developing the devices that allow them to disguise their mobilization traumas and thus to continue to exorcise them, but now obliquely. In Hemingway's and Faulkner's novels, “objective” sexual obstacles (injury, incest taboo) stand in for the military rejection that emasculated these Anglo authors, disguising and transfiguring it. Hemingway and Faulkner dignified the suffering of their Anglo alter egos by making their true loves impossible; Fitzgerald's alternative strategy for dignifying his sense of rejection was to split himself between two alter egos — one Anglo American and one ethnic American — and to give the experience of social rejection to a tragic character based only minimally on himself, namely, Gatsby.

The variety of translations is the result of a failure to translate the order of the Greek as it stands, because this would make Paul say that the Corinthian had committed incest precisely ‘in the ...
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The variety of translations is the result of a failure to translate the order of the Greek as it stands, because this would make Paul say that the Corinthian had committed incest precisely ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus.’ Nonetheless this is precisely what the Corinthians approved, because from their childish perspective such behaviour, which was condemned by Jews and pagans, made the Christian community ‘different’ in the sense that Paul desired.Less

1 Corinthians 5:3–5

Jerome Murphy‐O'Connor

Published in print: 2009-02-12

The variety of translations is the result of a failure to translate the order of the Greek as it stands, because this would make Paul say that the Corinthian had committed incest precisely ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus.’ Nonetheless this is precisely what the Corinthians approved, because from their childish perspective such behaviour, which was condemned by Jews and pagans, made the Christian community ‘different’ in the sense that Paul desired.

This chapter on mother-son incest (the most serious kind for the Middle Ages) considers two main types of plot. When the incest is consummated, the issue is whether the protagonist(s) will confess, ...
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This chapter on mother-son incest (the most serious kind for the Middle Ages) considers two main types of plot. When the incest is consummated, the issue is whether the protagonist(s) will confess, do penance, and be saved. Saints' lives sometimes include a story of incestuous birth, and also double incest (unknown in classical stories), where the incestuously conceived son later unwittingly marries his mother, and sometimes kills his father too. The discovery of this sin drives him to penance, and later he becomes a pope (Gregorius) or a saint (Albanus). Here the Oedipus story finds a spiritually happy ending. In the case of Judas, however, the incest and parricide cannot be absolved. In exemplary versions, the mother is the protagonist, and knowingly sleeps with her son, but confesses in the end. In near-miss incest stories (often romances), the son and mother recognize each other in time, and a family reunion is the happy ending.Less

Mothers and Sons

Elizabeth Archibald

Published in print: 2001-05-24

This chapter on mother-son incest (the most serious kind for the Middle Ages) considers two main types of plot. When the incest is consummated, the issue is whether the protagonist(s) will confess, do penance, and be saved. Saints' lives sometimes include a story of incestuous birth, and also double incest (unknown in classical stories), where the incestuously conceived son later unwittingly marries his mother, and sometimes kills his father too. The discovery of this sin drives him to penance, and later he becomes a pope (Gregorius) or a saint (Albanus). Here the Oedipus story finds a spiritually happy ending. In the case of Judas, however, the incest and parricide cannot be absolved. In exemplary versions, the mother is the protagonist, and knowingly sleeps with her son, but confesses in the end. In near-miss incest stories (often romances), the son and mother recognize each other in time, and a family reunion is the happy ending.

During the late 1970s and 1980s speaking out about the traumatic reality of incest and rape was a rare and politically groundbreaking act. Today it is a ubiquitous feature of popular culture and its ...
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During the late 1970s and 1980s speaking out about the traumatic reality of incest and rape was a rare and politically groundbreaking act. Today it is a ubiquitous feature of popular culture and its political value uncertain. This book explores the complexity and consequences of this shift in giving first-hand testimony by focusing on debates over recovered memory therapy and false memory syndrome, the spectacle of talkshow disclosures, discourses of innocence and complicity, as well as the aesthetics and effect of shock. In counterpoint to the frequently cynical readings of personal narrative politics, it advances an alternative reading built around the concept of unrepresentability. Key to this intervention is the stress placed by the text on the limits of representing sexually traumatic experiences and how this requires both theoretical and methodological innovation. Based on close readings of survivor narratives and artworks, the book demonstrates the significance of unrepresentability for a feminist understanding of sexual violence and victimisation.Less

Violence and the Cultural Politics of Trauma

Jane Kilby

Published in print: 2007-04-18

During the late 1970s and 1980s speaking out about the traumatic reality of incest and rape was a rare and politically groundbreaking act. Today it is a ubiquitous feature of popular culture and its political value uncertain. This book explores the complexity and consequences of this shift in giving first-hand testimony by focusing on debates over recovered memory therapy and false memory syndrome, the spectacle of talkshow disclosures, discourses of innocence and complicity, as well as the aesthetics and effect of shock. In counterpoint to the frequently cynical readings of personal narrative politics, it advances an alternative reading built around the concept of unrepresentability. Key to this intervention is the stress placed by the text on the limits of representing sexually traumatic experiences and how this requires both theoretical and methodological innovation. Based on close readings of survivor narratives and artworks, the book demonstrates the significance of unrepresentability for a feminist understanding of sexual violence and victimisation.

This chapter turns to the exemplary narratives of Confessio Amantis and examines their household-based economics of power through the theme of the exchange of women. Interpretations of Gower's tales ...
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This chapter turns to the exemplary narratives of Confessio Amantis and examines their household-based economics of power through the theme of the exchange of women. Interpretations of Gower's tales are contextualized by discussion of the politics of aristocratic marriage in the late 14th century. The representation of lordship and female will is considered in relation to various challenges to a ‘reciprocalist’ traffic in women, including female independence, rape, and incest. The chapter argues that Gower's tales sponsor a reciprocalist model of marriage exchange that is apparently non-coercive but securely governed by household, seigneurial interests. There are extended treatments of the tales of Rosiphelee, Jason and Medea, Apollonius of Tyre, Jephte's Daughter, and Alboin and Rosemund.Less

Women as Household Exchange in Genius's Tales

Elliot Kendall

Published in print: 2008-05-08

This chapter turns to the exemplary narratives of Confessio Amantis and examines their household-based economics of power through the theme of the exchange of women. Interpretations of Gower's tales are contextualized by discussion of the politics of aristocratic marriage in the late 14th century. The representation of lordship and female will is considered in relation to various challenges to a ‘reciprocalist’ traffic in women, including female independence, rape, and incest. The chapter argues that Gower's tales sponsor a reciprocalist model of marriage exchange that is apparently non-coercive but securely governed by household, seigneurial interests. There are extended treatments of the tales of Rosiphelee, Jason and Medea, Apollonius of Tyre, Jephte's Daughter, and Alboin and Rosemund.

Early Stoic political philosophy is misrepresented in the sources—as recommending such practices as anthropophagy and incest—mostly because of the large role that the Sceptics had in transmitting the ...
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Early Stoic political philosophy is misrepresented in the sources—as recommending such practices as anthropophagy and incest—mostly because of the large role that the Sceptics had in transmitting the theory (the Sceptics' role in this was first shown to be important by Schofield, 1991). Sextus Empiricus cites the scandalous Stoic views when discussing the question whether there is an art of life. He contrasts them with ‘normal life’, and through the opposition between theory and appearances calls into question whether there is an art of life, an issue which is of central importance to the Sceptical project and is discussed repeatedly. The Stoic theses thus gain a disproportionate eminence within the overall sparse evidence on early Stoic philosophy. The chapter closes with a discussion of the ‘disturbing theses’ (the infamous ideas ascribed to the Stoics) which tries to assess them as what they most likely are: examples that the Stoics put forward when explaining the revisionary implications of their theory of value and appropriate action, rather than general recommendations, rules, or an account of life in a city of sages.Less

The Disturbing Theses

Katja Maria Vogt

Published in print: 2008-04-01

Early Stoic political philosophy is misrepresented in the sources—as recommending such practices as anthropophagy and incest—mostly because of the large role that the Sceptics had in transmitting the theory (the Sceptics' role in this was first shown to be important by Schofield, 1991). Sextus Empiricus cites the scandalous Stoic views when discussing the question whether there is an art of life. He contrasts them with ‘normal life’, and through the opposition between theory and appearances calls into question whether there is an art of life, an issue which is of central importance to the Sceptical project and is discussed repeatedly. The Stoic theses thus gain a disproportionate eminence within the overall sparse evidence on early Stoic philosophy. The chapter closes with a discussion of the ‘disturbing theses’ (the infamous ideas ascribed to the Stoics) which tries to assess them as what they most likely are: examples that the Stoics put forward when explaining the revisionary implications of their theory of value and appropriate action, rather than general recommendations, rules, or an account of life in a city of sages.

This chapter explores the ways in which the discourse of Platonic love and erotic melancholy advance different ideas about sexuality within amorous relationships and promote incompatible gender power ...
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This chapter explores the ways in which the discourse of Platonic love and erotic melancholy advance different ideas about sexuality within amorous relationships and promote incompatible gender power hierarchies. It begins with a discussion of the construction of love according to Neoplatonisms, before turning to an examination of two plays written during the Caroline period, when the cult of Platonic love was at its height. In ᾽Tis Pity She's a Whore, Ford depicts Giovanni's incestuous love for his sister as a type of Platonic mirroring which is also a form of narcissism. Alternatively, in The Platonic Lovers Davenant uses the hazardous physical symptoms of lovesickness to challenge the Neoplatonic construction of love, promoting a notion of heterosexual desire that is physiological and sexual, rather than abstract and spiritual.Less

Lovesickness and Neoplatonism

Lesel Dawson

Published in print: 2008-09-18

This chapter explores the ways in which the discourse of Platonic love and erotic melancholy advance different ideas about sexuality within amorous relationships and promote incompatible gender power hierarchies. It begins with a discussion of the construction of love according to Neoplatonisms, before turning to an examination of two plays written during the Caroline period, when the cult of Platonic love was at its height. In ᾽Tis Pity She's a Whore, Ford depicts Giovanni's incestuous love for his sister as a type of Platonic mirroring which is also a form of narcissism. Alternatively, in The Platonic Lovers Davenant uses the hazardous physical symptoms of lovesickness to challenge the Neoplatonic construction of love, promoting a notion of heterosexual desire that is physiological and sexual, rather than abstract and spiritual.

This chapter discusses father/daughter incest narratives based on the legend of the ‘maiden without hands’ which have traditionally been read in the context of medieval debates on endogamous versus ...
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This chapter discusses father/daughter incest narratives based on the legend of the ‘maiden without hands’ which have traditionally been read in the context of medieval debates on endogamous versus exogamous marriage. Comparing Jehan Wauquelin's Manekine, a 15th-century prose reworking of Philippe de Remi's 13th-century Manekine, with both its source and Jehan Maillart's Roman du Comte d'Anjou (1316), it argues that these texts use the scenarios of incestuous desire and marital love in order to interrogate the nature of male marital sexuality and of the power relations between the sexes. It shows that whilst Philippe and Maillart draw, respectively, on courtly lyric and anti-courtly satire for their analysis, Wauquelin uses the ‘mirror for princes’ genre as his frame of reference in order to derive from his source a moral lesson on the personal and political implications of desire and the need for self-government.Less

Incestuous Desire versus Marital Love: Rewriting the Tale of the ‘Maiden without Hands’ in Versions of the Manekine and the Roman du Comte d'Anjou

Rosalind Brown‐Grant

Published in print: 2008-11-01

This chapter discusses father/daughter incest narratives based on the legend of the ‘maiden without hands’ which have traditionally been read in the context of medieval debates on endogamous versus exogamous marriage. Comparing Jehan Wauquelin's Manekine, a 15th-century prose reworking of Philippe de Remi's 13th-century Manekine, with both its source and Jehan Maillart's Roman du Comte d'Anjou (1316), it argues that these texts use the scenarios of incestuous desire and marital love in order to interrogate the nature of male marital sexuality and of the power relations between the sexes. It shows that whilst Philippe and Maillart draw, respectively, on courtly lyric and anti-courtly satire for their analysis, Wauquelin uses the ‘mirror for princes’ genre as his frame of reference in order to derive from his source a moral lesson on the personal and political implications of desire and the need for self-government.

The story of the apocryphal pope and saint Gregorius was extremely popular throughout the Middle Ages and later in Europe and beyond. In a memorable narrative Gregorius is born from an incestuous ...
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The story of the apocryphal pope and saint Gregorius was extremely popular throughout the Middle Ages and later in Europe and beyond. In a memorable narrative Gregorius is born from an incestuous relationship between a noble brother and sister, and is set out to sea with (unspecific) details of his origin. He is found and brought up by an abbot, but when revealed as a foundling, leaves as a knight to seek his origins; he rescues his mother’s land from attack, and marries her. On discovering his sin he undertakes years of penance on a rocky islet, which he survives miraculously. An angel sends emissaries from Rome to find him after the death of the pope, the key to his shackles is equally miraculously discovered, and he becomes pope. This hagiographical romance is not a variation upon Oedipus; it uses the invisible sin of incest as a parallel both for original sin (the sin of Adam and Eve) and for actual sin. It combines the universal theme of the quest for identity with the problem not of guilt as such, which is inevitable, but of how sinful humanity can cope if it avoids despair. The story probably originated in medieval England or France, but is found in versions from Iceland and Ireland to Iraq and Egypt, in verse and prose, in full-scale literary forms or in much-reduced folktales, in theological as well as secular contexts, and more or less continuously down to and even beyond. It is a truly European theme.Less

Gregorius : An Incestuous Saint in Medieval Europe and Beyond

Brian Murdoch

Published in print: 2012-10-04

The story of the apocryphal pope and saint Gregorius was extremely popular throughout the Middle Ages and later in Europe and beyond. In a memorable narrative Gregorius is born from an incestuous relationship between a noble brother and sister, and is set out to sea with (unspecific) details of his origin. He is found and brought up by an abbot, but when revealed as a foundling, leaves as a knight to seek his origins; he rescues his mother’s land from attack, and marries her. On discovering his sin he undertakes years of penance on a rocky islet, which he survives miraculously. An angel sends emissaries from Rome to find him after the death of the pope, the key to his shackles is equally miraculously discovered, and he becomes pope. This hagiographical romance is not a variation upon Oedipus; it uses the invisible sin of incest as a parallel both for original sin (the sin of Adam and Eve) and for actual sin. It combines the universal theme of the quest for identity with the problem not of guilt as such, which is inevitable, but of how sinful humanity can cope if it avoids despair. The story probably originated in medieval England or France, but is found in versions from Iceland and Ireland to Iraq and Egypt, in verse and prose, in full-scale literary forms or in much-reduced folktales, in theological as well as secular contexts, and more or less continuously down to and even beyond. It is a truly European theme.

This book discusses the transmission of social memory and social identities in elite and non-elite families. It provides definitions of the notion of individual and collective memory, and examines ...
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This book discusses the transmission of social memory and social identities in elite and non-elite families. It provides definitions of the notion of individual and collective memory, and examines the importance of children in the transmission of family tradition and values from the Republican period to the Late Roman world. It deals also with threats to familial memory, in terms of children deliberately or accidentally excluded from the family group. This collection of chapters reveals a multifaceted picture of the Roman family, based on the analysis of material, epigraphical, and literary evidence. The focus is on relationships and practices, rather than institutions, reflecting shifting concerns among a new generation of Roman family historians. Twenty-five years after the first Roman Family Conference, this fifth volume continues a tradition of innovation: it presents the latest approaches of American, Australian, and European research on Roman family history.Less

Children, Memory, and Family Identity in Roman Culture

Published in print: 2010-10-28

This book discusses the transmission of social memory and social identities in elite and non-elite families. It provides definitions of the notion of individual and collective memory, and examines the importance of children in the transmission of family tradition and values from the Republican period to the Late Roman world. It deals also with threats to familial memory, in terms of children deliberately or accidentally excluded from the family group. This collection of chapters reveals a multifaceted picture of the Roman family, based on the analysis of material, epigraphical, and literary evidence. The focus is on relationships and practices, rather than institutions, reflecting shifting concerns among a new generation of Roman family historians. Twenty-five years after the first Roman Family Conference, this fifth volume continues a tradition of innovation: it presents the latest approaches of American, Australian, and European research on Roman family history.

This chapter deals with children born of a union considered by ancient Romans as incestuous, mainly from a legal point of view, since we lack any evidence about their social life, with one exception ...
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This chapter deals with children born of a union considered by ancient Romans as incestuous, mainly from a legal point of view, since we lack any evidence about their social life, with one exception (Digest 23.2.57a: Flavia Tertulla's children). Romans did not doubt that such an union could result in viable descendants, in spite of Pope Gregory the Great's letter to Augustine of Canterbury, and they were only worried about kinship terms for these children. For imperial jurists, from Gaius down to Justinian, these children were not to be treated differently from the other illegitimate children (spurii). But under Justinian's reign, the legislation worsened the plight of incestuous children, mainly due to the development of a policy of deterrence towards potential incestuous pairs.Less

Rome: The Invisible Children of Incest

Philippe Moreau

Published in print: 2010-10-28

This chapter deals with children born of a union considered by ancient Romans as incestuous, mainly from a legal point of view, since we lack any evidence about their social life, with one exception (Digest 23.2.57a: Flavia Tertulla's children). Romans did not doubt that such an union could result in viable descendants, in spite of Pope Gregory the Great's letter to Augustine of Canterbury, and they were only worried about kinship terms for these children. For imperial jurists, from Gaius down to Justinian, these children were not to be treated differently from the other illegitimate children (spurii). But under Justinian's reign, the legislation worsened the plight of incestuous children, mainly due to the development of a policy of deterrence towards potential incestuous pairs.